Wednesday, 24 June 2015

5 Tips on How to Spot a Mao Shan Wang MSW Musang King Durian 猫山王 JK1160

An anonymous Johor Kaki reader suggested that I post a side by side comparison of a Mao Shan Wang with other durians to make it easier to spot a Musang King.So, here it is :-DThere are 5 external features that distinguishes a Mao Shan Wang from other durians.In the pictures that follow, the Mao Shan Wang is on the left and the other durian is on the right.

The Mao Shan Wang thorns are pyramidal in shape instead of conical. The pyramid is angular and has flat sides.

Mao Shan Wangs are usually oval like a rugby ball (and sometimes even shaped like a kidney). The durian on the right is a Thai durian. It has the same pyramidal thorns as the Mao Shan Wang but it is usually round like a bowling ball.Some dishonest durian sellers pass off Thai durians as Mao Shan Wang when the Musang King is off season, during early season and late season when there is pent up demand but low MSW supply.

The ring at the bottom of the Mao Shan Wang's stem is brownish and relatively bald.

The Mao Shan Wang has a unique 5 arm "starfish" with long slender arms that run up from the bottom to the sides of the durian.The bottom of a Mao Shan Wang is bald and flat (like the flat body of a starfish).

When looking for Mao Shan Wang, look for all the five features altogether in a single durian. Other durians may have one or two of these features but not all five together.

When we picked the right Mao Shan Wang, the thick flesh is rich almost bright royal yellow in colour (hence the name Rajah Kunyit). The fragrance is sweet though not overly pungent. The tender flesh is creamy and it tastes sweet with slight bitter notes - all in a delicious tasting balance. The small waxy seed is flat and the flesh literally undrapes itself.

A stale Mao Shan Wang with slightly mouldy wet coreUnfortunately, knowing how to pick a real Mao Shan Wang doesn't guarantee a good durian. It is only half the battle of buying a good durian. (Yes, it is sometimes a battle.)There are good Mao Shan Wang and bad Mao Shan Wang.Customers can still get bad Mao Shan Wang, if they run into dishonest durian sellers who:

Knowing how to spot a Mao Shan Wang increases your chances of an enjoyable durian experience but the best protection for consumers is still a reliable, honest durian seller.

If you know a honest durian seller (the majority are), go back to him/her for your durians.Please share the name and address of honest durian sellers you know in the comments for everyone's benefit :-D

Enjoying durian in SingaporeHere is my earlier post on the Mao Shan Wang <-click.Next project, to make a list of honest durian sellers in Johor and Singapore.Wish you happy durian eating :-D

Hi..Yesterday we drop by a durian stall in Tangkak. Before we came down the car, we did asked the seller how much is his displayed durian per kg. He answered RM32/kg. We then sat down to enjoy 4 quite a good size durians. He told us it was a Musang? but not a musang king. When my hubby went to pay the seller. He got a shocked of his life. The seller charged him a whopping RM76 per kg. He didn't want to argue and ended up paying RM800 fr a 4 durians estimated about 12kg++. Does such durian really cost that much or are we being cheated by the greedy Seller in Tangkak?

There are various durian stalls in and ard JB that I have had the opportunity to purchase from. Unfortunately, my 2 favourite stalls have since closed due to old age of owners. There is currently one (rank personal 3rd) who is consistent but price is on the higher side relative to other JB stalls. That's Ah Tong behind KSL. His service is consistent, is very generous with sampling and his price is also consistently higher. If you choose not to open your durians to "ta bao" home, there is always the risk of not getting what you paid for. This, to be fair to him, can occur at any stalls anywhere. To counter this, you tell him (him only, not his assts or son)you will be back if the durians have any problem and make sure you go back within the week if you have poor quality durians or better still, call him as soon as you have eaten your durians. Tell him how many pieces are affected and when you will be back. Of course these means you have to be a JB regular to be worth it. Another way to reduce your chances of getting a not-so-good durian is to select the durians yourself. Since Ah Tong has many durians of many varieties, you can do your own selection before taking them. Go early (way before 12pm), sit around and wait for his lorry to arrive and then join in the rush with fellow durian siao. Trust me, there are a lot of people just as crazy as us or more. The workers unload the baskets of durians and everybody goes "ji eh si mi lew lian", "MSW", "kui lui?", "ji eh leh?", "kim hong", "kui lui?"...and it goes on and on until every basket is on the floor. And before you know it, half the durians have been "choped" by someone. Each of these someone, standing next to little piles of their carefully selected prized fruits, guarding them with hawk-eyed nervousness. They have taken their share, yet for unknown reasons, they wouldn't move a foot. If you are there the first time, you will be stunned silent. You will feel like the best durians have been taken and you are left with just scraps. Don't worry, there are still good durians around and you will get over your initial shock soon enough. But will you be shocked a second time? By his price that is...

I firmly believe that taste is subjective and so, warmly welcome differing viewpoints :-D But, I disapprove negative comments that are anonymous or hide behind fake identities. I feel that that is the same as speaking ill of others behind their backs. I look forward to all your comments :-D Thank you. (Date: 18 Dec 2015)

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